Communication is Priceless: Why Team Dialogue Matters

When we think about high performance teams, our minds envision amazing talent.  However, the foundation for sustained dominance lies deeper than skill and talent.  The glue binding talent into a cohesive, dominant force relies on discipline and trust within the team and coaches.  Communication builds trust. Therefore, the quality of communication exchanged between teammates and coaches everyday is crucial.

Every athlete and coach operates differently. Knowing how to communicate and manage these different personalities is essential. Tailoring communication based on individual motivators builds trusting relationships and heightens influence, especially during crunch time. In other words it’s more about psychology than Xs & Os but we often get this backwards as coaches.

Not only is communication necessary in every day dealings with your athletes, it is necessary in handling conflict and disagreements within the team.  Resolving conflict is part and parcel to the role of coaches and team leaders. In high pressure situations, disagreements naturally occur, and sometimes boil over. Candid and compassionate communication prevents divides from turning into resentment and potentially even larger issues.  Hashing out disputes, rather than avoiding them, builds cohesion. 

When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen - Ernest Hemingway

On the playing field teams must constantly communicate around positioning, assignments and adjustments. Frequent and constructive dialogue strengthens strategies, relationships, motivation and chemistry essential for competitors who leave everything out there together. For them, the right words mean everything.

The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said - Peter Drucker

Too often athletes take feedback personally. The key in fostering a culture of trust is assuming positive intent, having an open dialogue, and being willing to remain open to others’ points of view.  This takes work and prevents team communication breakdowns in crucial performance situations.

Here are some tips for teams to communicate effectively:

- Establish group norms early on that set a tone of mutual understanding and respect. For instance agree to disagree respectfully.

- Ask thoughtful and incisive questions which help get to the root cause of an issue and clarify any uncertainties. Encourage a culture of curiosity and questioning.  

- Let teammates express themselves fully, don't interrupt, and summarize what you hear to ensure understanding. Seek first to understand before being understood.

- Don't avoid difficult conversations. Issues left unaddressed tend to fester and worsen. Raise problems early and directly, but also with sensitively. 

- Focus on using "I" statements rather than "you" statements. For example, "I felt confused by that direction" rather than "you didn't give clear directions."

I leave you with this quote that sums up the essential elements of a team that communicates in a highly effective manner:

Listen with curiosity. Speak with honesty. Act with integrity. The greatest problem with communication is we don’t listen to understand. We listen to reply. When we listen with curiosity, we don’t listen with the intent to reply. We listen for what’s behind the words.”― Roy T. Bennett